Our Staff & Board
Anne Vilen
Outreach & Communications Coordinator
volunteers@lit-together.org
Anne has lived in Asheville for 25 years, working first as a middle school language arts teacher, then as an elementary-school administrator, and later as a writer for national education non-profits. During that time, she also volunteered for local nonprofits providing health care, legal services, housing, and resettlement support to refugees, immigrants, women, and low-income folks.
Three years ago, Anne signed up to tutor Second Language Learners (ESOL) at Literacy Together. That experience, working with students from Colombia and Afghanistan, confirmed her belief that the ability to speak, read, write, and understand language effectively is the foundation of personal and professional success. Literacy is a first big step toward advocating for one’s self—for a better job, better health care, housing, education, justice, or community connection. Teaching immigrants also inspired Anne to begin learning Spanish herself, including a month-long immersion course in Costa Rica and a three-year-long streak on Duolingo. Háblale en Español, por favor!
Anne brings her passion and conviction to Literacy Together where her work as Communications and Outreach Coordinator will lift up the voices and experiences of students and tutors for the broader community. Their stories of hope, resilience, and compassion inspire all of us to learn more, work harder, and, most importantly, take care of one another.
In addition to her work at Literacy Together, Anne is a prolific freelance writer. She’s coauthored four books on teaching, learning, and school culture, as well as dozens of articles—on teaching, childcare, disaster recovery, and rural issues—in print and on-line publications.
When not at her keyboard, you’ll find Anne outdoors: gardening, hiking, camping, kayaking, or open-water swimming. “On a recent solo cross-country road trip, I spent 40 nights in a tent and swam across lakes in ten different states,” she says. “Life’s an adventure. Embrace it!” Anne has two adult children and her first grandchild on the way. She can’t wait to teach that grandbaby to read and to swim.